Jan Liwacz
Encyclopedia
Jan Liwacz – a master
blacksmith
, inmate of Auschwitz concentration camp
, known for the infamous "Arbeit macht frei
" slogan over the camp's main entrance gate that he made.
He was detained and arrested on 16 October 1939 in Bukowsko, kept in prisons of Sanok
, Krosno
, Kraków
and Nowy Wiśnicz
; he arrived at Auschwitz in its beginnings, on 20 June 1940, receiving early camp number of 1010. As a metal worker he was assigned to a kommando
manufacturing camp's infrastructure elements (grating
s, handrail
s, banisters, chandelier
s etc.). During his stay he was twice condemned to solitary confinement
of the penal 11th Block in June 1942 and March 1943, spending there five weeks altogether. On 6 December 1944 he was transferred to Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
, where he was kept at (Melk
and Ebensee
subcamps).
After liberation of the Ebensee camp on (6 May 1945) he trekked for Poland with Alfons Wrona, his cell-mate from Auschwitz and settled in Bystrzyca Kłodzka of western Recovered Territories
. Once there, he started working at local forge owned by Paul Wolf. When the Wolf family was expelled in 1946, he stayed there as an artist blacksmith. Among others, in 1953 he hand forged
(free of charge, as his gift for the city) a fence for the Holy Trinity sculpture and so-called "elevation" on Freedom Square in Bystrzyca. After retirement
he kept teaching artisan smithery in local vocational school. He died in 1980 and was buried in Bystrzyca Kłodzka.
In 2008 on 110th anniversary of his birth there was an exhibition opened in Bystrzyca Kłodzka presenting his life and works.
Master craftsman
A master craftsman or master tradesman was a member of a guild. In the European guild system, only masters were allowed to be members of the guild....
blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
, inmate of Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
, known for the infamous "Arbeit macht frei
Arbeit macht frei
"'" is a German phrase, literally "work makes free," meaning "work sets you free" or "work liberates". The slogan is known for having been placed over the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust, including most infamously Auschwitz I, where it was made by prisoners...
" slogan over the camp's main entrance gate that he made.
He was detained and arrested on 16 October 1939 in Bukowsko, kept in prisons of Sanok
Sanok
Sanok is a town in south-eastern Poland with 39,110 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It's the capital of Sanok County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Previously, it was in the Krosno Voivodeship and in the Ruthenian Voivodeship , which was part of the Lesser Poland province...
, Krosno
Krosno
Krosno is a town and county in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland with 47,455 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009.Notably Krosno is the site of the first oil well in the world....
, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and Nowy Wiśnicz
Nowy Wisnicz
Nowy Wiśnicz is a small town in Bochnia County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,724 inhabitants . It is located 4 miles south of Bochnia.-Former structures:...
; he arrived at Auschwitz in its beginnings, on 20 June 1940, receiving early camp number of 1010. As a metal worker he was assigned to a kommando
Kommando
Kommando is a generic German word meaning unit or command. During World War II it was also the basic unit of organisation of slave labourers in German concentration camps....
manufacturing camp's infrastructure elements (grating
Grating
A grating is any regularly spaced collection of essentially identical, parallel, elongated elements. Gratings usually consist of a single set of elongated elements, but can consist of two sets, in which case the second set is usually perpendicular to the first...
s, handrail
Handrail
A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide stability or support. Handrails are commonly used while ascending or descending stairways and escalators in order to prevent injurious falls. Other applications include bathroom handrails—which help to prevent falls on...
s, banisters, chandelier
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
s etc.). During his stay he was twice condemned to solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
of the penal 11th Block in June 1942 and March 1943, spending there five weeks altogether. On 6 December 1944 he was transferred to Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
, where he was kept at (Melk
Melk
Melk is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,222 ....
and Ebensee
Ebensee concentration camp
The Ebensee concentration camp was established by the SS to build tunnels for armaments storage near the town of Ebensee, Austria in 1943. It was part of the Mauthausen network....
subcamps).
After liberation of the Ebensee camp on (6 May 1945) he trekked for Poland with Alfons Wrona, his cell-mate from Auschwitz and settled in Bystrzyca Kłodzka of western Recovered Territories
Recovered Territories
Recovered or Regained Territories was an official term used by the People's Republic of Poland to describe those parts of pre-war Germany that became part of Poland after World War II...
. Once there, he started working at local forge owned by Paul Wolf. When the Wolf family was expelled in 1946, he stayed there as an artist blacksmith. Among others, in 1953 he hand forged
Forging
Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it is performed: '"cold," "warm," or "hot" forging. Forged parts can range in weight from less than a kilogram to 580 metric tons...
(free of charge, as his gift for the city) a fence for the Holy Trinity sculpture and so-called "elevation" on Freedom Square in Bystrzyca. After retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
he kept teaching artisan smithery in local vocational school. He died in 1980 and was buried in Bystrzyca Kłodzka.
In 2008 on 110th anniversary of his birth there was an exhibition opened in Bystrzyca Kłodzka presenting his life and works.
Source
External links
- iron-glass box manufactured by Jan Liwacz (Auschwitz-Birkeanu State Museum collection)